Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund Grant

Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: International Documentary Association Inc
Amount: US $25,000
Last Updated: February 16, 2026

Summary

Overview

Note: Beginning of June - Nominating Organizations recommend projects End of June - Short applications from nominated projects are due. This is indicated above as due date for Pre-proposal.Mid-August - Top 20 Finalists apply with Core Application. This is indicated above as due date for Full Proposal.End of September - Grantees are selected International Documentary Association For 40 years, IDA has supported nonfiction filmmaking and filmmakers through our major program areas. In service of our mission, IDA provides production and development grants directly to documentary filmmakers and helps them fundraise for their project through our Fiscal Sponsorship Program. Our year-round programming includes conversations with seasoned filmmakers and industry leaders, as well as educational seminars for documentarians of all experience levels to grow professionally by enhancing their knowledge of the craft and business of nonfiction filmmaking. Annually, we produce the IDA Documentary Awards, celebrating the best nonfiction projects of the year, as well as the IDA Documentary Screening Series, bringing both films and the creators to industry insiders and film enthusiasts. Our biennial conference, Getting Real, is the only peer-to-peer gathering of its kind in North America. We publish the Documentary magazine, serving the documentary community with engaging, pragmatic and provocative coverage of the documentary field in online and linking the local and international communities of nonfiction makers. As an advocate for documentary artists, activists and journalists, IDA issues statements, calls to action and op-eds, and coordinates with other organizations, networks and individuals, depending on the issues being addressed. Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund About the Fund Made possible by the New York Community Trust, the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund supports feature-length documentary films that reflect the spirit and nature of Pare Lorentz's work, bringing to light and researching a social issue to inform democratic education. Pare Lorentz uses a creative and intentional visual style of storytelling to bring nuance into conversations that affect everyday people. The Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund began in 2011, making it the International Documentary Association’s oldest fund, and has granted $1,360,000 to 72 projects. The fund provides production and post-production grants to be used in the creation of original, independent documentary films that illuminate urgent issues. Noteworthy Pare Lorentz grantees include Black Mothers, Hummingbirds, After Sherman, Crip Camp, Yintah, and Queer as Punk. A complete list of Pare Lorentz grantees can be found in our Grantee Database. Every year, the Pare Lorentz fund selects projects based on one theme - sometimes a social issue, other times a type of film form. This year, the theme is migration in and to the Americas. We select the films through nominations from key film organizations throughout the Americas. (To read more information about the theme and the nominations, click here). Supported Grant Activities Grant funds may be used for production and post-production related expenses. Expenses may include line items such as principal photography, travel, equipment purchase or rental, insurance, rights and clearances, editing, and crew salaries (including deferred payments). Period of Support The official grant period of concentrated support is one year from the date of the grant award. Filmmakers are strongly encouraged to use their grant funds within that first year. After the first granting year, the project will continue to receive reduced IDA artist support until the film is complete. The grantee is expected to complete annual deliverables based on their grant contract. Grants Awarded We will select three projects, and each will be awarded a grant of $25,000 USD. Each project will be afforded a $2000 consultation stipend to use for story, edit, or other catalytic support to help the project be successfully completed. One team member from each project will receive a free 1-year IDA Doc Maker Membership.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Applicant Eligibility Applicant must be the director and/or a producer who shares creative and editorial oversight of the project. Co-producers and co-directors are allowed to apply but must have editorial oversight.The applicant must be 18 years of age or older.The applicant must be an independent filmmaker working on an original project. For the purposes of this grant, IDA defines an independent filmmaker as a content creator who both owns the copyright of his or her work and has full artistic, budgetary, and editorial control of the documentary project.Films owned by a production company are eligible, as long as the applicant is part of the production company and not just hired for the project.Applicants can apply from anywhere in the world.At least one director and/or producer on the project must have directed and/or produced at least one completed nonfiction feature-length film (40 minutes or longer).At the finalist stage, applicants will be required to have an IDA Membership. Project Eligibility Your project must be far enough into production that you have at least a 10-minute sample to show in the application. Work samples shorter than 10 minutes will not be considered.Your current work sample must have captions. They can be open captions, subtitles with audio descriptions, or closed captions.If you are a first-time director, a prior work sample is not required. If you do include a prior work sample, the sample cannot be behind a paywall.The project must address this year’s Pare Lorentz theme.The film budget must not exceed $1M USD.The project must be in production or post-production at the time of applying, having completed the bulk of research and development but still having substantial production and/or post-production-related work and expenses remaining.Access to major film participants must be secured.The film must be intended for an international and broad audience. A broadcast or distribution commitment is not required.Stories must be original, relevant to contemporary audiences, and urgent or critically important. Historical films will only be considered if they have a significant contemporary component or narrative.

Ineligibility

NOT eligible to apply: Biographies, branded content, student films, commissioned films, completed films, purely historical films, and short documentaries (under 40 minutes finished run time).Documentaries being produced for or under the direction of a third party, such as a broadcast entity, university, foundation or nonprofit organization are ineligible. The fund does not support expenses related to impact, fundraising, distribution, publicity, marketing, or outreach.